Sister North: A Novel [Hardcover]

Jim Kokoris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2003

Sam was an indifferent Chicago lawyer content to drift though life on his good looks and his wife's money, until a violent incident shatters his world. Newly addicted to watching Sister North, a nun with a popular TV show, Sam embarks on a trip to Lake Eagleton, Wisconsin to see the wise nun personally, seeking forgiveness and spiritual guidance.

When he arrives, he discovers that he has been watching reruns-Sister North has vanished and all sorts of rumors abound. As he waits, wondering if the elusive nun will ever return, he unexpectedly, he falls in love with Meg, a reclusive waitress at the local restaurant. This was not the answer that he was searching for, yet, for the first time in his life, his feelings are genuine.

Jim Kokoris, the author of the beloved novel The Rich Part of Life, sensitively and compassionately portrays a remarkable story of forgiveness and hope. Undeniably powerful, Sister North is a novel that takes a poignant and humorous look at what passes for faith and love in the twenty-first century.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A Chicago divorce lawyer seeks solace from an unlikely divine source after a tragic shooting in this funny, touching second novel. On the surface, Sam Gamett is a decidedly unsympathetic protagonist; a handsome, callow lawyer who marries a less attractive woman for her money. Gamett finds himself bereft when his marriage falls apart and his practice begins to slide; matters come to a head when a deranged, gun-toting client walks into Sam's office and inexplicably kills his sweet young secretary, Maureen, after threatening Gamett. Wondering why he wasn't chosen for death, Sam searches for answers. After watching an inspiring TV advice show hosted by a placid nun named Sister North, Sam makes the decidedly odd decision to drive to her studio in Lake Eagleton, Wis., to meet the nun in person. Unfortunately, Sister North is off traveling when he arrives, but Sam finds himself attracted to the woman who handles her affairs, Meg Lodge, even as rumors of the nun's death cast a pall over the town, which revolves around her status as a TV celebrity. Kokoris's gift for comic dialogue and his ability to create damaged but funny characters sustains the unlikely conceit, although the narrative momentum stalls occasionally due to excessive focus on the dilemmas of the harebrained secondary characters. Sam's romance with Lodge isn't always plausible, but his charm and his slow-growing awareness of his flaws overcome the problems of pace and plotting. Kokoris's sophomore effort doesn't quite reach full potential, but the author fulfills much of the promise he showed as a humorist and character writer in The Rich Part of Life.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

When a crazed gunman bursts into Sam Gamett's law office, fires at him but kills his secretary, and then himself, Sam is already teetering on the brink of a massive midlife meltdown. Now pushed to the edge, Sam retreats to a sleazy motel, where he wallows in a beer-induced, junkfood-infused haze, broken only by his obsession with the ministrations of "Sister North," a nondescript nun dispensing no-nonsense advise via cable TV. Much like the Wizard of Oz, this "Sister of Odds" attracts the bereft and broken, including Sam, to her backwoods home with a promise of guidance, if not salvation. A tender poignancy permeates this charmingly profound yet deviously humorous portrait of redemption and renewal, one that Kokoris conveys with inspired insight and charitable compassion for a winsome cast of sad sacks. In a world fraught with trauma and tragedy, Kokoris reasons that we have a right to ask life's toughest questions; and the right answers, he reveals, may be closer than we think. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312275404
• ISBN-13: 978-0312275402
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,881,969 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book, September 12, 2005

By 

KLB "Ibby" (WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sister North: A Novel (Paperback)

I picked up this book merely because I loved the cover art (the nun figurine sitting on a windowsill, with "Go Sister" as its label). There have been very few books that have made me laugh out loud like I did through the first few chapters. A good humorist is a great find, indeed! While the tone becomes more somber after the "incident", there is a dark humor that is addictive, all while telling the tale about one man's search for his place in the world. The intriguing mystery of Sister North kept me reading because I just HAD to know where she was. A very pleasant, well-written book and one of the best I've read in the past year.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely great, December 23, 2004

By 

S. Frandsen (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sister North: A Novel (Paperback)

Sister North is an excellent book. I picked it up after really enjoying Kokoris' first book, The Rich Part of Life. Sister North has some great characters with superb dialogue and a story that will hold your attention and keep you laughing. Kokoris is one of my favorite new writers. I can't wait to see what he has in store for his third book.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Winner!!, October 29, 2003

By 

Amy Leemon (North Fond du Lac, WI) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sister North: A Novel (Hardcover)

Sam is an attorney on the skids. He's living in a hotel room and running his business out of a strip mall office - when he bothers to go in at all. His perky young secretary tries to keep him in shape but its an uphill battle. But Sam's life gets worse than he ever imagined it could when his secretary is killed in the line of fire when someone comes to the office with a grudge against HIM.

He retreats in despair to his hotel room where the only thing to capture his attention is a television program featuring Sister North - a kindly nun who gives advice to people who call in. He tries to call but doesn't get through so he finally decides to go to Wisconsin to find Sister North in person.

Along the way, he meets Willie who rides along with him. When they get to the town, they find Sister North is gone on one of her trips and its not known when she will be back. And the rumor starts that maybe there really isn't a Sister North. That its all a campaign to bring money to the little town that she's supposedly a part of. Is that true and are all his efforts to find out the reasons for the things that have happened to him for nothing or will Sister North really come back home?

Filled with delightful people, this one is a treat!